Kevin Taglang

More than nine months after the national COVID-19 emergency was declared, Congress has directed the Federal Communications Commission to create an emergency broadband benefit, a monthly discount on broadband internet access service for low-income people. On January 4, the FCC released a Public Notice asking for comment on how to best implement this new program which Congress expects to be up and running in the next two months. Here's a look at what the FCC is asking.

It is Day 1,421 of the Trump Administration. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, from Day 1, has insisted that closing the digital divide is the Trump FCC's top priority. This week, the FCC announced the winners of over $9 billion worth of rural broadband subsidies -- the "single largest step ever taken to close the digital divide," according to Chairman Pai. But looking at the results may leave millions of rural residents apprehensive -- and disconnected.

A new chapter in our ongoing COVID-response drama began this week when a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers unveiled a $908 billion emergency relief plan. For many vulnerable people in the U.S., the lack of affordable broadband connections continues to hinder online learning and remote work. Will Congress finally pass economic relief and target support to reduce the digital divide? 

Joseph R. Biden Jr. was elected the 46th president of the United States in voting that ended November 3, 2020. He will take office on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Although we won't know the makeup of the 117th Congress until January, we can start thinking about changes in federal agencies, like the Federal Communications Commission. President-elect Biden has identified four "Day One" priorities for his administration: battling the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitating economic recovery, facing racial inequity, addressing global climate change.

On November 10, the Senate Commerce Committee convened to consider the nomination of Nathan Simington for Federal Communications Commissioner. President Donald Trump nominated Simington after withdrawing the re-nomination of current FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly this past summer. Simington has been a Senior Advisor for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce since June of 2020.

Tuesday, November 3, is Election Day. And as you may well be trying to decipher the latest polls to predict who'll be running the federal government for the next four years, policymakers haven't taken a break. Here's a quick recap of the major news of the week.

The Senate Commerce Committee convene a hearing to examine whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has outlived its usefulness in today’s digital age. Lawmakers hammered the chief executives of Twitter, Facebook, Google -- and one another. Republicans claimed the companies were suppressing conservative views. Of the 81 questions asked by Republicans, 69 were about censorship and the political ideologies of the tech employees responsible for moderating content.

Can the Federal Communications Commission regulate the internet? Can it offer consumer protections for broadband subscribers? Can it regulate the content found on social media sites?

On October 1, AT&T stopped selling digital-subscriber-line (DSL) connections. At first glance, the move may seem like a market-based decision to drop an obsolete technology. But as journalists and advocates were quick to pick up on: What about the abandoned customers? At a time when safety dictates that many of us learn and earn from home, how are people to do so when a commercial decision impacts health and well-being?

On October 27, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote to create the 5G Fund for Rural America, a new program supported by the Universal Service Fund. The 5G Fund will replace the FCC's existing Mobility Fund which has been used to support deployment of 4G LTE networks in rural, insular, and high cost areas of the country. The FCC will distribute up to $9 billion in universal service support to bring mobile voice and 5G broadband service to rural areas of the country. The deployment of networks capable of providing this 5G service undoubtedly will be expensive.